All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Parallel translations
- WEB All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
- BSB All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
- NKJV All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
- NASB All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
- NLT All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus calls those who came before Him thieves and robbers whom the sheep did not heed. He refers to false messiahs and self-serving leaders, not the true prophets.
Overview
In context this targets the corrupt religious leaders and false claimants who sought to exploit Israel rather than the godly prophets who pointed to Christ. The genuine sheep did not follow these impostors. The verse exposes counterfeit shepherds in contrast to the true one.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 34:2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
- Jer 23:1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
- John 10:1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- Isa 56:10–12His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Acts 5:36For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
- Ezek 22:25–28There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
- John 10:5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
- Zech 11:4–9Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
- Zech 11:16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
- Zeph 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 10:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.